I was pondering this today as I was working around the house. I spent much of my earlier years determined to get a good education and not have to do manual labor like my parents and grandparents. Among other things, my grandfather owned and operated a small (I think about 80 acre) orchard. As a kid I had to work in this orchard, hauling irrigation pipe, pruning trees and dragging away the cut limbs, picking the fruit, etc. It was back-breaking, mind-numbing, never-ending labor that didn't seem to offer any kind of reasonable payback for all of the effort that went into it. However, as motivation to study hard and get good grades in engineering school, this probably couldn't be beat.
After 7 or 8 years in the city, I came to the realization that I really didn't care all that much for the crowds and the claustrophobic feeling of living in a cookie-cutter house in a neighborhood jam-packed with others just like it, and so I moved just outside of town, where I managed to find a small house on a few acres, with of all things, a small orchard.
Which brings me to today. This afternoon my grandfather was teaching me to drive his Caterpillar D4 (bulldozer), a skill which I had studiously avoided learning as a kid. It turns out, I needed to push a few piles of tree limbs around and do some work on the driveway, and my grandfather was nice enough to "loan" me his Cat. I say loan, but the truth is he's 87 years old and hadn't even started the thing in at least five years--he retired long ago from trying to run an orchard--so it's likely the Cat will be more a gift than anything. By the way, he's still got it down pat--he drives the Cat like he was born to it.
As I was struggling to pick up the subtleties of something I ought to have learned decades ago, it occurred to me how incredibly ironic the situation was. After spending half my life striving to ensure that I don't have to do this sort of work, when I reach the point that I can afford to live where I want when I leave the hustle and bustle of work behind in the evenings, I find that what I want is the simpler quiet existence of living outside of the city. What I want is precisely the thing that I've been striving to avoid....
Originally posted by leisurelyslothThe trials and tribulations of rebelious youths going agaisnt the grain set by their parents, eh?
I was pondering this today as I was working around the house. I spent much of my earlier years determined to get a good education and not have to do manual labor like my parents and grandparents. Among other things, my grandfather owned and operated a small (I think about 80 acre) orchard. As a kid I had to work in this orchard, hauling irrigation ...[text shortened]... of the city. What I want is precisely the thing that I've been striving to avoid....
Should we start calling you Anakin?
- Joined
- 05 Oct 05
- Moves
- 63425
Originally posted by leisurelyslothMade me think, of this:
I was pondering this today as I was working around the house. I spent much of my earlier years determined to get a good education and not have to do manual labor like my parents and grandparents. Among other things, my grandfather owned and operated a small (I think about 80 acre) orchard. As a kid I had to work in this orchard, hauling irrigation ...[text shortened]... of the city. What I want is precisely the thing that I've been striving to avoid....
Lately I've been feeling low
A remedy is what I'm seeking
Take a taste of what's mellow
Come away to something better
What I want is what I've not got
But what I need is all around me...
-Dave Matthews
Originally posted by Daemon SinNo, not so much. I don't think I was any more rebellious than average. And I'm certainly not saying that I'm on the verge of quitting my job in engineering and taking up farming instead. I like my job. I just find it ironic that I'm doing (and enjoying) in my spare time, the exact work that I hated as a kid (although admittedly it's on a much smaller scale).
The trials and tribulations of rebelious youths going agaisnt the grain set by their parents, eh?
Should we start calling you Anakin?
Also, I find it ironic that I'm now wishing I'd spent more time learning some of the skills that I'd never thought I'd need. Driving a Cat is certainly one of those. And it's kind of cool actually, driving a monsterous machine which can easily shove around big boulders that you couldn't even wiggle by hand. I imagine it's how a rook must feel when it's sitting on an open file!
And, in an interesting bit of serendipity, my father-in-law asked me to come visit and help him clear some land for a house next week. He'll have an even bigger Cat and a backhoe and a big excavator to run. Bigger boys, bigger toys! It's sounding like a lot of fun. 😀